THREE red cards in three games — it’s not something I’ve experienced in my coaching career and it’s certainly not where we want to be.
When they’re all coming from similar situations, you must take a step back and ask some tough questions.
For me, the reality is simple: the last couple have been self-inflicted.
They haven’t come from reckless or dirty challenges — they’ve come from moments where we’ve put ourselves under pressure and paid the price.
That’s the frustrating part.
Against Brisbane City on the weekend, I thought we were in control for large periods of that first half.
We were the better side, and, in many ways, we were better in possession than we had been the week before.
But again, one moment — one technical error — changes everything.
Suddenly you’re down to 10 men and the game becomes a completely different contest.
There’s been plenty of talk about refereeing and consistency, and I understand why.
Decisions can go either way.
One week there’s cover, the next week there isn’t.
It’s a game of opinion — it always has been at every level, even in the top leagues.
But I’m not interested in blaming referees.
If we keep the ball better, if we don’t make those fundamental mistakes, we don’t put ourselves in those situations in the first place.
That’s where the focus needs to be.
Now, we’re making it too easy for opposition teams and too hard on ourselves.
The scorelines over the past few weeks don’t make for great reading, and I know there’ll be people looking at them and thinking we’ve been outplayed.
But inside the group, the feeling is different.
It’s not that teams are cutting us apart. It’s that we’re hurting ourselves in key moments.
That has an impact on confidence.
You can see it in small ways. Players second-guessing themselves, hesitating, overthinking decisions.
That’s natural when results aren’t going your way.
But it’s also something we must push through.
Because there is quality in this squad.
I see it every day at training, and we’ve shown it in patches during games.
The challenge now is to put it together for 90 minutes and to do it with 11 players on the field.
We’ve also had to juggle a few things selection-wise.
Getting Massa (Yokoyama) back from a broken foot was a big positive for us — he brings composure and quality on the ball.
The situation that led to his red card was unfortunate, but again, it started earlier in the passage of play.
Hayden’s (Stanley) another one who’s been knocking on the door, and I felt he deserved his opportunity.
Unfortunately, the sending off forced us to reshuffle again, which has been a recurring theme lately.
That’s why this next game becomes so important.
The cup match against Rochedale might not carry the same weight as the league in the bigger picture, but right now it’s an opportunity — a chance to reset, to rebuild some confidence, and most importantly, to get back to winning ways.
Sometimes football doesn’t need to be overcomplicated.
Keep 11 players on the pitch. Take care of the ball. Cut out the errors.
If we can do those things, I’ve got no doubt we’ll turn this around.
